[GSAS-Member] Aquatic Gardeners Association - convention in November!

[Erik Olson <erik@thekrib.com>]

I was pleasantly surprised at the picnic to find that there were more than 
two folks interested in this, so I thought it good to post to the list:

So there's this other 'fish club' that I work in, called the Aquatic 
Gardeners Association, or AGA, and it's a national/international 
organization just for aquarium plant enthusiasts.  And every year or two 
the AGA hosts a big convention.

This year the convention is in Atlanta, and it's the weekend of November 
14th.  There will be a ton of talks -- including Mr. AMANO, aka Mr. Nature 
Aquarium World, and this Professor Tan guy who they're flying to do a talk 
just on aquatic mosses.

There's also a big auction on Sunday (think 2x the GSAS general auction, 
but just plants).  You can sell plants at the auction too, just like with 
ours -- I think the split's even a little better.  Sometimes speakers or 
other foreign visitors bring in very exotic stuff I've never heard of 
before.

There's also going to be two *live* demonstrations of aquascaping... Mr. 
Amano will do one on Saturday, and on Friday night there is the "Iron 
Aquascaper" challenge -- two teams compete using the same raw materials. 
We've shown videos of these at the local meetings, so some of you may be 
familiar.

The hotel's just a couple blocks away from the new Georgia Aquarium.  On 
Friday morning we've got a group discount for those wanting to see this.

The best part of the convention, in my opinion, is something you don't get 
on the DVDs or from the talks, and that is the opportunity to just hang 
out with 100-150 plant geeks.  There's a hospitality suite open late every 
evening.  You'll find people there sorting plants for the auction, 
swapping stories and advice, you name it.  The speakers are often very 
approachable.

Registration itself is pretty cheap -- less than $60 if you just want to 
see the talks, less than $100 if you want to go to the banquet too.

It'd be very cool to have a "Seattle contingent" this year.  And hey, if 
you want to help out at the auction, you may find that the computer system 
is strangely familiar... :)

For more details, and to register, check the AGA website at 
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/convention.html
or just e-mail me personally.

   - Erik


-- 
Erik Olson
erik at thekrib dot com
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